The "World of Heroes" DC RPG Season IV

[wiegeabo]

The grieving has started. His friends begin to mourn. But, at this moment, there is not time for that.

"We cannot remain here. There are people who still need help. The people he sacrificed himself for."

I look at the Man of Steel. Then look back at the rest of the league.

"Do not lessen that sacrifice."

I step up, stainding with them.

"Honor it, by focusing on those lives that can still be saved."

 

[twylight]

"J'onn, we can't just.."

I look into his face. The face of a man who's seen his entire world vanish while he lived on. I want to punch him. I want to embrace him. I just want Clark back. I want to fix it.


But I can't.



"You *****! Don't say that... Don't you have a heart? Or did you leave that behind in your grave?"



And then it's there again. Something I haven't felt in a long time. Thinking of a world without Superman. A world without his light. It brings to mind something I have fought all my life.

Fear.

"I'm sorry, Dinah. I didn't mean that."

He places his hand onto Dinah's shoulder. Hal Jordan turns to J'onn. Then the Green Lantern of sector 2814 embraces the Martian Manhunter. He turns back to the body of Clark Kent and does something that he's never been good at.


He says goodbye.

Dinah pulled away, Hal's words cutting deep but truthfully. It was a hit below the belt on her part at a time like this, but the question of if they had even tried to bring her back, would she have had to live through what she did?

"Don't be sorry Hal." she said looking down at Clark, his face strangly peaceful.

"In all honesty I envy him of his death. I was allowed no such courtesy. Please, let's just go save some people." She said turning and flying away.

 

[wiegeabo]

Dinah pulled away, Hal's words cutting deep but truthfully. It was a hit below the belt on her part at a time like this, but the question of if they had even tried to bring her back, would she have had to live through what she did?

"Don't be sorry Hal." she said looking down at Clark, his face strangly peaceful.

"In all honesty I envy him of his death. I was allowed no such courtesy. Please, let's just go save some people." She said turning and flying away.

"Yes, let us."

I rise into the air.

"There is a city to save."

 

[Franklin Richards]

Dinah's changed.

Hal looks over at Sinestro.

"You're right. Let's get to work."

Hal took one last look at Clark.

 

[LibrarianThorne]

The Fortress of Solitude was abuzz with activity. Dozens of golden, floating robots, powered by technology Lois Lane couldn't even concieve of.

"Kelex! What in the name of God is going on?"

The little robot turned its expressionless face toward Sam Lane's daughter. "I cannot say, Mrs. Lane. The Master would not want me to tell you."

A cold fear gripped her heart. "Wouldn't want you to tell me what, Kelex?"
"I apologize, Mrs. Lane. This is one of my highest protocols."
"Fine then, what's the name of this damned protocol?" said Lois, her natural reporter instincts taking over. She knew, in her heart of hearts, something had happened to Clark. Something bad. And now these guardians, these housekeepers, wouldn't tell her what.
"Doomsday/Failure."

Deep in the bowels of the Fortress, six Superman robots came to life. Their costumes were similar to Superman's, save for one striking difference. Their S-shields were black. They spoke, vocal transmitters relaying the last instruction of the Jor-El command. "Enact program: Temple of Peace."

The robots flew out of the Fortress, streaking past a still confused Lois Lane.

"What was that?!"
"A subroutine activating, Mrs. Lane."
She grabbed the robot, heedless of her own still recovering state. In her gut, she could feel it. The same tight, cold ball of fear that had gripped her six years ago. She knew, but she had to hear it.
"God damn you, Kelex! What happened to Clark?!"
"Please wait. You will know in approximately twenty minutes."

Six blue and black figures streaked across the sky. With sensors more advanced than anything on Earth, they located the resting place of the Man of Tomorrow. They descended into the midst of the heroes around Superman's body. One of them strode to the body, and lifted it off of the emerald altar. It turned, and spoke to the assembled heroes.

"Command Last Rite /execute." The robot's face changed almost imperceptibly, becoming softer, more human. More like his face, an odd sight giving the body the robot held. "Hello, everyone."

The voice was his, and the robot looked at each hero in the eye as it spoke. "I recorded this to beread in the worst case scenario. If you're hearing this, it means I'm dead. Again. Wow, that sounded really weird to say," the robot chuckled as it said the uncomfortable sounding line. "But the fact remains. Something I didn't tell many of you, my earlier... resurrection, I'd guess you'd call it, was a one time thing. The Fortress no longer has the ability to resuscitate me, so... this is it. I've instructed these robots to recover my body, and play this recording. A last will with robots, I guess. What's going to happen is this: they will take my body to the Fortress. Even now, I bet the Fortress is changing. It's becoming a monument to... me, I guess. One last protocol my father had hardwired into the Fortress software. I may not be around, any more, but through the Fortress, my legacy and example will live on. I hope that will be enough."

The robot sighed, and inclined its head as he so often did when he didn't know what to say. "This is so macabre, but I have to do it. I'm sorry that I'm leaving you all so suddenly. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer, and-and I hope that the good I've done will be more important than me. Don't mourn me, you already did that the first time. I know a lot of you must be sad, and I don't even want to think about what Batman would be doing right now, but listen to me this one, last time. Being who we are, doing what we do, was never supposed to be safe or easy. Many of us have died fighting this never ending battle, some of us more than once. We're all used to dealing with loss, and my last wish is for all of you to be even better heroes than you were when I was here. People all over the world look to us and our example, and our actions will always speak louder than our words. Go out, today, and make someone believe not in a man who can fly, but in themselves. End recording."

The robots flew away, leaving some staring at the sky.

Five minutes later, they entered the main lobby of the Fortress. Lois Lane and Kelex emerged from a side chamber. The body was placed on a strange crystalline altar, one that hadn't been there a few minutes before. On each side of the altar was the S-shield of Superman.

Lois Lane gasped. She ran over to the altar, her mouth suddenly dry. She put her hands on his scarred, bloody face. So like the last time.

"Clark..." No more words left her mouth. She buried her face on his chest, and began sobbing uncontrollably.

 

[Speedball]

"Yes, let us."

I rise into the air.

"There is a city to save."

"I'll...I'll stay here, with Superman. There's not much good I can do here, at least not like you guys."

It's times like these, when I'm surrounded by people who have powers beyond my imagination, that I really feel like a little kid. You always believe that your parents are superheroes, they can do the impossible.

"When Roy and Dick get here, we'll get him somewhere safe."

 

[twylight]

Dinah turned floating in the air as the Robot spoke, it's voice an imitation of Clarks own. She looked down tears forming in her eyes as she silently said good-bye to him.

~It is worthwhile to live
and fight courageously
for sacred ideals....~ Saffire whispered.

Dinah ignored her, before speaking silently finishing the poem.

"'-

O blow ye evil winds
into my body's fire
my soul you'll never unravel.

Even though disappointed a thousand times
or fallen in the fight
and everything would worthless seem,

I have lived amidst eternity --
Be grateful, my soul --
My life was worth living.

He who was pressed from all sides
but remained victorious in spirit
is welcomed into the choir of heroes.

He who overcame the fetters
giving wings to his mind
is entering into the golden age of
the victorious.'"

~Norbert Capek~ Saffire commented.

Dinah nodded.

"Very applicable to Clark." she said before turning and flying off.

"We've got some of our own living to do."

 

[Franklin Richards]

"Goodbye."

 

[wiegeabo]

I float silently, listening to the greatest hero's last words. The robots gather up his body and fly into the blue sky, soon fading from sight. Then the Canary speaks.

I turn away and look down for a moment, absorbing what they said. From the corner of my eye, I notice a shadow, shaped much like a man, seeimingly standing a short distance away. But before I can bring it into focus, the shape disappears, merging back into the shadows from which it came.

So he heard it, after all.

 

[Speedball]

Six blue and black figures streaked across the sky. With sensors more advanced than anything on Earth, they located the resting place of the Man of Tomorrow. They descended into the midst of the heroes around Superman's body. One of them strode to the body, and lifted it off of the emerald altar. It turned, and spoke to the assembled heroes.

"Command Last Rite /execute." The robot's face changed almost imperceptibly, becoming softer, more human. More like his face, an odd sight giving the body the robot held. "Hello, everyone."

The voice was his, and the robot looked at each hero in the eye as it spoke. "I recorded this to beread in the worst case scenario. If you're hearing this, it means I'm dead. Again. Wow, that sounded really weird to say," the robot chuckled as it said the uncomfortable sounding line. "But the fact remains. Something I didn't tell many of you, my earlier... resurrection, I'd guess you'd call it, was a one time thing. The Fortress no longer has the ability to resuscitate me, so... this is it. I've instructed these robots to recover my body, and play this recording. A last will with robots, I guess. What's going to happen is this: they will take my body to the Fortress. Even now, I bet the Fortress is changing. It's becoming a monument to... me, I guess. One last protocol my father had hardwired into the Fortress software. I may not be around, any more, but through the Fortress, my legacy and example will live on. I hope that will be enough."

The robot sighed, and inclined its head as he so often did when he didn't know what to say. "This is so macabre, but I have to do it. I'm sorry that I'm leaving you all so suddenly. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer, and-and I hope that the good I've done will be more important than me. Don't mourn me, you already did that the first time. I know a lot of you must be sad, and I don't even want to think about what Batman would be doing right now, but listen to me this one, last time. Being who we are, doing what we do, was never supposed to be safe or easy. Many of us have died fighting this never ending battle, some of us more than once. We're all used to dealing with loss, and my last wish is for all of you to be even better heroes than you were when I was here. People all over the world look to us and our example, and our actions will always speak louder than our words. Go out, today, and make someone believe not in a man who can fly, but in themselves. End recording."

The robots flew away, leaving some staring at the sky.

The robots came down and took the body. Superboy never even got to see him one last time, at least not on good terms. I wonder what he's doing?
Probably doing what any person with the word Super before their name, saving lives.

I head back up the crater, somewhat in a daze. These past few days have been so crazy, that I completely forgot about what I was going to do tomorrow.
I finally tracked down Pamela Isley. She got out(or broke out) of the hospital before I could speak to her. Some of my sources tell me she has set up shop in New Zealand.

But that's tomorrow, today I need to help the people of Metropolis get back on their feet, tomorrow I'll worry about my own needs.

 

[Spider-Man9X17]

Kyle dropped to his knees, burying his head in his hands.

"I should have never came back. Never. This place holds nothing but heartache for me."

Kyle couldn't help but remember his first fight as a Lantern. Against Mongul. The monster who had destroyed Coast City and finally allowed Parallax to gain the hold it needed on Hal Jordan. In a way, Mongul was the thing responsible for Kyle getting the ring. But he knew none of that at the time. He knew nothing of using the ring, or the Corps, or being a hero. He was way out of his league.

And who was there that day, to watch his back for the first time. To bail him out. To be the first hero to shake his hand in gratitude and friendship.

Superman. Clark Kent.

A sudden thought popped into his mind. Something Calrk said to him as he gathered up Mongul's limp form and flew away.

"You can be proud of yourself Green Lantern. Look me up next time you're in Metropolis."

And that was Superman in a nutshell. No matter what happened, there was always faith.

Now that faith fell to the other heroes of Earth.

The Torch Bearer. A name bestowed to Kyle so long ago. Now, it carried so much more meaning. For all the heroes. They were all the Torch Bearers now.

Slowly, Kyle picked himself up off the ground, the form of his costume shimmering back to his original, the one he had willed up that night on the beach with Alex.

Tonight, for some reason, it felt right.

And then, after wiping the last tears away, he went back to work. Saving people.

Because that's who he was. That's what he did.

"In Brightest Day, in Blackest Night, no Evil shall Escape my Sight. Let those who Worship Evil's Might, Beware my Power, Green Lantern's Light."

 

[Red]

Lex's phone rings.

Angela...I knew sooner or later that she might call...I better answer it.

Lex answers the phone, "Yes Angela what can I do for you?"

She replies, "Mr. President I'm in the press room and the White House press corps is starting to get a little anxious. They want an offical comment on the situation in Metropolis and I can't keep stalling them much longer."

Lex says, "Ahh very well Anglea have the switchboard operator put me through."

Angela says, "Gladly."

Within moments he hears Angela say, "I have on the line the President himself. Go ahead sir."

Lex replies, "Thank you Anglea. Ladies and Gentlemen of the press corps. Let me just say that this is not a press conference. The situation in Metropolis is under in control thanks to the work of, I guess we can call them the Justice League. There are still some unsettled situations but they are being addressed. When the time is right I will address the enitre nation on the situation and have some interesting revelations as well. There is no cause for alarm"

He can hear some of them shouting questions and Lex says, "Everything will be brought to light in due time thank you all very much."

Lex hangs up the phone.

Soon my victory....my long overdue victory will be at hand.

The private elevator in Luthor’s office gave a loud ping and the doors drew open out revealing the Demon’s head himself: Ra’s Al Ghul.

Ra’s produced his sword from his belt and quickly dispensed with Luthor’s security guards. He causally made his way to Luthor desk.

“If you had died in this office as fate intended Alexander, you could have saved yourself the agonising pain that you and yours will now have to endure.”

 

[The Question]

For the past day, I've been looking over the files I stole from the DEO office. Most of the agency files are of no use to my investigation, but might come in handy later. What interests me are the personal files of our now deceaced scientist. It seems that our dearly departed doctor didn't own a home computer. Used the one at the office because he thought it was "safer." Hopefully it might shed some light on the identity of his killer.

********

Hours later, and I still haven't found much of anything. Just standard journal entries. No, less than standard. This guy was incredibly boring. Every person I know who ever kept a journal filled there's with all sorts of insecurities and wannabe philosophy. This is almost like he was having a journal because he needed to, not to write down anything important. I wonder.....



Well. What do we have here? Some very havily encrypted files. The journal I read must have been to keep suspision away from his real secrets. Clever boy.


*********

Several hours later. Haven't slept all night. Need to finish this. I cracked the files a few minutes ago. Some pretty interesting stuff here, but nothing worth killing anybody over.



Wait.


I wonder what "Project B" is.

 

[Speedball]

I head back to the hospital where Superboy and Rose left me.
I'm still trying to analyse all of the events that have happened today.
Black Canary's return, The Virus, Superman's death, and the man who killed him still at large. Can the world even get worse?

Near the hospital, about a block away, is a building in total ruins. The structure must have been too weak to handle the earthquake caused by Superman.

On top of the rubble I see a black cloth with something red on it. It has to be-
I run over to it and it is.
It's Superboy's shirt, but it's torn and frayed.
Dear God! He must be somewhere in the rubble!
I lift the shirt up and find a hand. He's directly under me!
I dig and dig until I finally find him.

"No Conner! I've lost one friend today, I don't know if I can stand to lose another!"

I check for a pulse and...
YES! He's alive!
I check to see is if he is breathing...
He's alright!
I push everything off of his body, and I put him over my right shoulder.
Thank God the hospital isn't to far. I'm not sure how far I could have gone with him before I was completely exhausted.

When I get there, doctors rush to help me. They put him on a stretcher and take him in. I'm with him the whole way.

The doctors tell me he's in a coma. His brain funtions are normal, everything is normal, he's just in a very deep sleep. I give them my cell phone number. It's linked to my communicator.
I send a message to the GL's and Sinestro.
-This is Robin. I've found Superboy, he's in a Coma and I've left him at the hospital where the antidote was first administered. Since things in Metropolis have calmed down, I'm going to leave. I have something I need to take care of.-

_________________________________________________________________


Two days and three flight changes later, I arrive in New Zealand.
I decided to take a commercial flight, instead of using a Batplane.
I needed some peace and quiet. After all of the craziness in Metropolis, A little rest is due.
When I arrived in Hawaii yesterday, all of the newspaper had one headline "Superman Dead" or something like that.

The plane lands in Wellington, on the North Island. My "sources" told me that she is living near New Plymouth, in a green house about 5 miles outside of the city. She's apparently tried to change, to concentrate on developing new plant life to help people.

I rent a jeep in Wellington and drive. No need to be Robin when there are almost no criminals in the country. It takes me about 2 hours to get to her house. I knock on the door, but no one answers. It's not locked, so I go inside.

"Hello?!"

It's pretty nice in here, there are tons of plants, but also very modern furniture.

"I'm back here! Who is it by the way?!"

"Umm...My name's Tim!"

I find her in the green house section. It's gigantic, almost two stories tall and longer than her house. Plants are everywhere, from floor to ceiling.
Some are small, but some are bigger than anything I've ever seen.
"I'm afraid I don't know a Tim. At least, I don't know one here in New Zealand."

She's doesn't look up at me. She's busy studying one of her plants.

"You're right, you don't know me by Tim. The last time I saw you, I went by something else."

"Robin, right?"

"Yes...But how did you-"

"-How did I know? I'll never forget the voice of the only man strong enough to kill me."

"I came here to apologize."

"Well...apology accepted. You were going through a rough time, and I only made it worse. I'm the one who should apologize actually."

She still doesn't look up at me. That plant must be mighty interesting.

"I don't understand it. How are you here today?"

"Like plants, I can be uprooted. But if you put me back into the ground, I'll begin to grow again."

"And that time in Gotham not too long ago?"

"Oh you mean that time I got my butt kicked by that woman-"

"-Black Canary."

"That was Black Canary? Looks like I'm not the only person to rise from the dead.
When she beat me up, it knocked some sense into me. Why fight? Why try to be someone I never wanted to be? So I escaped from the hospital and came here. Since you found me, I suppose others know where I am? I don't think they care though. I'm not hurting anyone, I'm trying to help people now."

She really has changed. Her whole attitude has taken a 180. She doesn't seem like the ruthless Poison Ivy I know, but the woman Pamela Isley that I'm meeting for the first time today.

"I'm glad to see you are doing well then."

"And I see you have turned back to the light yourself."

She finally looks at me. She walks over to me, and puts her hands on my shoulders.
She kisses me on the cheek. No poison, no toxic chemicals like usual, just a nice kiss.

"It was nice seeing you Tim."

"Uhh...It was nice seeing you too.

I leave the green house, then the house entirely and get back into my jeep. I have a smile on my face. Why do I have a smile on my face? I guess it's because, finally, something has gone right.

________________________________________________________________

I got back to Gotham at about 12 pm yesterday. I unpacked and trained until it got dark.
After dusk, I go outside and patrol. Doing what I do every night. I stop a few robberies, a mugging, and stopped a bar brawl. Yep, just like old times.

I sit on the top of Wayne Tower, or the New Wayne Tower. It's still under construction. I look out to the horizon, to all of the construction.
It seems like even during a time after the death of Superman, things are going to get back to normal.
I jump off the Tower, and smile.

Yep, things are only going to get better now.

 

[Green Lantern]

Visibly strung by his emotions, Roy crouched down near Dick.

"Dick, with every thing thats happened in the last day, I can't handle this right now. I need to get home, I need to see Lian. Bruce have a stash of vehicles hidden in Metropolis?"

 

[Batman]

Visibly strung by his emotions, Roy crouched down near Dick.

"Dick, with every thing thats happened in the last day, I can't handle this right now. I need to get home, I need to see Lian. Bruce have a stash of vehicles hidden in Metropolis?"

Nightwing looked over at his friend, trying to hide his own visible sadness. But eventually, He nodded, sucking up the tears that nearly came out with Clark's final message to the world. To... everyone. A hero to the very end.

"Yeah... I- I think so. Bruce usually keeps some spare stuff in one of his company's warehouses. Shouldn't be far from here." , Dick said, standing up.

"I don't blame you. I think I'm gonna head back too. With what Clark said... I think Bludhaven needs it's protector back."

 

[Green Lantern]

Nightwing looked over at his friend, trying to hide his own visible sadness. But eventually, He nodded, sucking up the tears that nearly came out with Clark's final message to the world. To... everyone. A hero to the very end.

"Yeah... I- I think so. Bruce usually keeps some spare stuff in one of his company's warehouses. Shouldn't be far from here." , Dick said, standing up.

"I don't blame you. I think I'm gonna head back too. With what Clark said... I think Bludhaven needs it's protector back."

About an hour later they made it to the Wayne Warehouse. Inside they found one bike. "...MULTI-BILLIONAIRE Bruce Wayne has ONE ride in Metropolis?!? What kinda crap is that? I call front since I have further to go. You ride b**ch til we drop you in your town."

 

[Batman]

About an hour later they made it to the Wayne Warehouse. Inside they found one bike. "...MULTI-BILLIONAIRE Bruce Wayne has ONE ride in Metropolis?!? What kinda crap is that? I call front since I have further to go. You ride b**ch til we drop you in your town."

Nightwing looked at Roy.

"You actually have the mental capacity to drive this thing? Oh, this I gotta see...", He responded, before sitting on it, waiting for them to leave.

He was trying his best to hide it. But everything that had transpired in the past few hours had really got to him. Clark was gone, now. Aswell as half of Metropolis. Dinah was back, and fully alive. How that happened perplexed Dick, but he decided he didn't care anymore. He didn't even care that Bruce did absolutely nothing to help with Metropolis, despite the anger he felt in that regard. Nothing else mattered now... Except his city.

He was going to be the hero that he had ventured out to be. He just needed to keep strong, and stay focused...

By the time Dick regained his awareness of what was happening around them, they were already heading out of the City of Tommorow.

 

[Johnny Blaze]

Eiling sat in his office as he watched the events in Metropolis die down. It was perfect. The war in the world's greatest city was just what he needed. This fight would leave the heroes weakened and ripe for the picking, especially if the preliminary reports of Superman's demise were true.
All the pieces were almost in place. Soon he'd make his move. With the aid of his own League the world would soon belong to Eiling.

A knock on the door to his office brought him from his thoughts of grandeur and back to reality.
"What?"

A short yet stocky officer entered the rooms and saluted. Eiling returned the salute and asked, "What's the matter, son?"

"General, it is my duty to inform you that we believe someone has...gained information on Project: B."

"WHAT", screamed Eiling as his eyes narrowed in anger.
"I don't care what it takes, but you find out who took these files and kill them along with the files! Do I make myself clear, Sargeant!?"

"Yessir!"

"No, wait", said Eiling as the officer was about to leave the room, "I have an idea."
Eiling leaned on the front of his desk with a wicked smile on his face as he looked at the Sargeant.
"Send out clone trooper B-1. Tell him I want this thief dead and the stolen data destroyed. Tell him that I want this all done a quietly as possible. Is that clear, Sargeant?"

"Yessir", replied the Sargeant as he snapped to attention. After Eiling dismissed him, he quickly exited the room and ran down the hallway.
Eiling sat alone in his office contemplating the news. Those files were important. He had stolen them from the government before he cut ties with them. They contained all the info on his little cloning experiment as well as many other secret military projects. In the wrong hands, that information could prove very dangerous to Eiling's plans.
Still, the General had faith that his man would get things done.

Right now there was nothing he could do but wait.
Soon though the time for waiting would be over, and Eiling would show the heroes a war unlike any they had ever seen before...

 

[Green Lantern]

Nightwing looked at Roy.

"You actually have the mental capacity to drive this thing? Oh, this I gotta see...", He responded, before sitting on it, waiting for them to leave.

He was trying his best to hide it. But everything that had transpired in the past few hours had really got to him. Clark was gone, now. Aswell as half of Metropolis. Dinah was back, and fully alive. How that happened perplexed Dick, but he decided he didn't care anymore. He didn't even care that Bruce did absolutely nothing to help with Metropolis, despite the anger he felt in that regard. Nothing else mattered now... Except his city.

He was going to be the hero that he had ventured out to be. He just needed to keep strong, and stay focused...

By the time Dick regained his awareness of what was happening around them, they were already heading out of the City of Tommorow.

"Heh, you only ask that because I made you wet yourself last time you piggy backed on one of these with me. Remember, I did that crazy jump a semi thing?"

-----------------------------

Six hours later and they were pulling up to the outskirts of Bludhaven.

"Listen Dick, I know we said we were gonna take down this drug ring together, but given the circumstances, I really need to see Lian, so if you don't mind, I'm gonna let you off here. Give me a call if you get a lead, or if you need my help. I'll be there in a half a second, and you know it. In the mean time, I got a long ride still ahead of me, good luck cleanin up your town, it has, like always with us, been a blast."

 

[Batman]

Six hours later and they were pulling up to the outskirts of Bludhaven.

"Listen Dick, I know we said we were gonna take down this drug ring together, but given the circumstances, I really need to see Lian, so if you don't mind, I'm gonna let you off here. Give me a call if you get a lead, or if you need my help. I'll be there in a half a second, and you know it. In the mean time, I got a long ride still ahead of me, good luck cleanin up your town, it has, like always with us, been a blast."

"Don't get sappy on me, Boy Bowman.", Nightwing said, as the two stood infront of the fallen city. The sun rose near them, as they were unphased by the loneliness... the death, around them. Just like old times.

"Anyway, yeah. We may have our differences, but I have to admit, I had one hell of a time up there.", Dick mentioned. "And I'll be sure to take you up on that offer. But for now... Go. You got a little tike waitin' for ya. Who am I to keep you from her?", Nightwing asked, with a grin.

He then looked at the Bat-cycle Roy was leaning against.

"...Hey, you don't plan on keeping that, do you?"

 

[Green Lantern]

"Don't get sappy on me, Boy Bowman.", Nightwing said, as the two stood infront of the fallen city. The sun rose near them, as they were unphased by the loneliness... the death, around them. Just like old times.

"Anyway, yeah. We may have our differences, but I have to admit, I had one hell of a time up there.", Dick mentioned. "And I'll be sure to take you up on that offer. But for now... Go. You got a little tike waitin' for ya. Who am I to keep you from her?", Nightwing asked, with a grin.

He then looked at the Bat-cycle Roy was leaning against.

"...Hey, you don't plan on keeping that, do you?"

"No you moron, I'm gonna leave the bike here and walk the two hundred miles to New York. What are you, ******ed or something? I'm goddamn Roy Harper, and you owe me a bike anyway remember?"

 

[Batman]

"No you moron, I'm gonna leave the bike here and walk the two hundred miles to New York. What are you, ******ed or something? I'm goddamn Roy Harper, and you owe me a bike anyway remember?"

"...I asked if you were KEEPING it, not borrowing it. Jackass.", Nightwing responded.

Nightwing smirked.

"But seriously man, it's been fun. Take care of yourself, and that munchkin of yours."

 

[Green Lantern]

"...I asked if you were KEEPING it, not borrowing it. Jackass.", Nightwing responded.

Nightwing smirked.

"But seriously man, it's been fun. Take care of yourself, and that munchkin of yours."

As Roy hopped back on the bike, he smirked. Then looked back at Dick, "I'll tell her that her "Unca Hotpants" said hi. When things get settled down you'll have to come up and see her, shes growin like a weed. See ya Disco Stu."

Roy gunned the engine and shot northward towards the big apple.

-------------------------------------

Four hours later, the bikes tires squeeled as he tail-whipped the cycle into the JSA's private underground lot. "WOOHOO!" He hopped off, leaving it perfectly parked in Ted's spot, and stood by the elevator. A laser scanned his retinas.

Identity Confirmed: Welcome Roy Harper. Sending notification of your arrival to all rooms.

From one of the upstairs rooms he could hear a squeel of joy. "DADDY!" He smiled as he stepped on to the elevator and hit the floor for Jessie's room. As the doors slid open, he braced himself and not a moment too soon as Hurricane Lian dived at him and wouldn't let go.

"Ah, did ya miss your daddy?"

"Uh huh!!! What took so long?"

Roy thought of what to tell her, and then hesitated.

"Ninjas. Daddy was fightin Ninjas."

"REAL Ninjas?!? Cool!"

"Yeah, real ninjas. Hey, you go down to the garage. Uncle Hotpants left us with one of Uncle Spooky's bikes. And he told me to tell ya hi for him."

"We getta ride a Bat-Bike? SWEET! Okay daddy, I'll be down there."

As the door closed Roy was left alone with Jessie.

"Jess, did you see the news?"

"Yeah Roy, I saw. I didn't believe it, but I saw it. Is it true?"

"Fraid so Jess, I saw him fall. You didn't tell Lian did you?"

"No, I figured that be better left to you if it was true."

"God. She's gonna get one back, just to lose another. Well, thanks again for watching her, if you ever need anything you know who to call. In the mean time, I'm gonna take some time off to catch up with her, and a couple other important people. See ya later Jessie."

Roy got in the elevator and pressed the button for the basement. As the door closed he heard Jessie. "Have fun Roy. You deserve it."

Yeah, for once, I do, don't I?

TO BE CONTINUED IN SEASON V

 

[SuperFerret]

Dinah pulled away, Hal's words cutting deep but truthfully. It was a hit below the belt on her part at a time like this, but the question of if they had even tried to bring her back, would she have had to live through what she did?

"Don't be sorry Hal." she said looking down at Clark, his face strangly peaceful.

"In all honesty I envy him of his death. I was allowed no such courtesy. Please, let's just go save some people." She said turning and flying away.

Interesting, and a slight bit disturbing. This isn't the Dinah Lance I once knew, and once again I am tempted by curiosity to just scan her mind to discover if this was indeed the true Black Canary, but if she was truly who she says she is, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself for the invasion of her privacy.

Then, suddenly...

The voice was his, and the robot looked at each hero in the eye as it spoke. "I recorded this to beread in the worst case scenario. If you're hearing this, it means I'm dead. Again. Wow, that sounded really weird to say," the robot chuckled as it said the uncomfortable sounding line. "But the fact remains. Something I didn't tell many of you, my earlier... resurrection, I'd guess you'd call it, was a one time thing. The Fortress no longer has the ability to resuscitate me, so... this is it. I've instructed these robots to recover my body, and play this recording. A last will with robots, I guess. What's going to happen is this: they will take my body to the Fortress. Even now, I bet the Fortress is changing. It's becoming a monument to... me, I guess. One last protocol my father had hardwired into the Fortress software. I may not be around, any more, but through the Fortress, my legacy and example will live on. I hope that will be enough."

The robot sighed, and inclined its head as he so often did when he didn't know what to say. "This is so macabre, but I have to do it. I'm sorry that I'm leaving you all so suddenly. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer, and-and I hope that the good I've done will be more important than me. Don't mourn me, you already did that the first time. I know a lot of you must be sad, and I don't even want to think about what Batman would be doing right now, but listen to me this one, last time. Being who we are, doing what we do, was never supposed to be safe or easy. Many of us have died fighting this never ending battle, some of us more than once. We're all used to dealing with loss, and my last wish is for all of you to be even better heroes than you were when I was here. People all over the world look to us and our example, and our actions will always speak louder than our words. Go out, today, and make someone believe not in a man who can fly, but in themselves. End recording."

The robots flew away, leaving some staring at the sky.

Kal, you are a noble man. All the way to the end and beyond.

"Let's finish up here, and allow everyone to get on with their lives."